Steam's XCOM: Enemy Unknown Page is now accepting pre-purchases of Firaxis' upcoming continuation of the X-COM series of counter-UFO strategy games, which includes an unusual program that offers customers increasing levels of rewards as more of them commit in advance of the game's release next month. The page also now offers a demo of the game playable through Steam. This announcement has more details on pre-purchase incentives and a special edition of the game at some retailers, as well as the following explanation of what to expect from the demo:

Gamers who download the demo will be guided through two levels of the single-player tutorial campaign, experiencing the combat controls and effective tactics for defending humanity against the alien threat. The two tutorial missions will also introduce players to the XCOM base, where soldier training and researching alien technology takes place, and offers a chance to experience the tactical and strategic layers of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The XCOM: Enemy Unknown playable demo will be available soon for console gamers.

So I finally managed to give the demo a try last night. I've never played any previous XCOM game so I got nothing to compare this to. I did enjoy the demo. Not sure I will preorder the game but I will definitely get it at some point.

Creston wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 14:20:You realize that the publisher gets the same cut whether GMG offers an $8 voucher off or not, right? It's not as if that $8 comes directly out of the level designer's paycheck.

GMG is just doing this to build brand awareness and consumer loyalty. Any guy they can get to buy the game from them rather than Steam is a potential future customer, so they can afford to basically make no money on that transaction.

Creston

Then why did they allow it with BL2 pre-orders and not for x-com? BL2 is likely to sell more copies. Specifically it didn't work for xcom NA edition (it worked with europe one). Region crap like that is usually from publisher.

I could see price controls being responsible for instance, there's many products that are tightly price controlled (one big example, everything made by apple). You know those products on amazon that say "sale price too low, add to cart to see" ? They are done that way to avoid the "you can't advertise a price on this for less than XX" price controls.

Or, I could see the publishers cut being higher, and GMG not able to afford a voucher on it without too high a loss.

In either case, pretty sure the voucher not working thing comes down from publisher indirectly if not directly.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 20:05:These people that won't buy anything new at full price, especially titles that are worthy of paying full price for, I often wonder what kind of hardware they have in their machines since a good video card is far from cheap. Not only that but don't you people actually want to support devs that make games that you enjoy? No wonder publishers don't take chances and just pump out sequels and me too copy cat titles of whatever big title is currently the hot game.

Especially in the case of Xcom being only 50 when most titles are 60 out of the gate these days.

I buy plenty of stuff at full price - and overpriced to boot - generally just not games but most games aren't worth it IMO. I'm not cheap, I just expect good value relative to what I buy as does everyone else. I dropped $63 on a bottle of Pinot Noir from Oregon last week and didn't blink and eye doing it. And whilst it was overpriced it was entirely worth it. If I can save 8 bucks on a game and apply that to something else I'm damn sure going to and so will most other people.

Sorry I wasn't trying to single you out really Cutter, I just tend to eye roll alot when an obvious quality title is coming and you have generally the same handful who won't buy it at all unless they can use Greenmangaming or whatever. Drives me crazy.

Not that I'm against saving money or anything crazy like that, but at the same time I have no issue paying full price for something like BL2, or Skyrim, or Xcom that I know I'm going to get my money's worth out of.

You realize that the publisher gets the same cut whether GMG offers an $8 voucher off or not, right? It's not as if that $8 comes directly out of the level designer's paycheck.

GMG is just doing this to build brand awareness and consumer loyalty. Any guy they can get to buy the game from them rather than Steam is a potential future customer, so they can afford to basically make no money on that transaction.

Demo was too damn short. It didn't give you a full taste of the entire game. Also the camera needs to be more intuitive and have more control. I had the demo freeze on the 2nd mission and had to ctrl alt del it. I like the graphics and the art direction.

I loved the demo and for now will stick with my PC retail version. Looking forward to the geeky patch. But who knows I may go for the Steam purchase if they reach the Civ V goal. That is the only bonus I am interested in though at this point it may not make a difference.

As far as the tutorial part of the demo I also was at first let down I didn't get complete control of the squad from the very start. After thinking about it I realized this was for the best. Not everyone has seen the videos. Not everyone has played a couple dozen TBS games. Plus I'll bet its the first level of the game which helps to introduce you to the mechanics and a bit of the story... I think the demo sells it well. Though I too wish there were a half dozen levels to play through. I don't want to wait for the release.

After playing thru a second time and seeing slight changes from the AI I am left wondering how different the AI will be on the harder levels. I pray it will ramp up with each level. Not just increase the number of tangos on the map. Either way I am very much looking forward to October 9th. Tomorrow morning I plan on arranging the day off. Even if I have to take somebodies weekend duty.

Can't wait to play the game for a dozen hours straight making all the research choices we couldn't try in the demo.

Stanly Manly wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 19:41:I'm on the fence after playing the demo. I felt it was far too limited in scope to get a solid handle on what the game had to offer. You couldn't really deviate from the demo path at all, and I just wanted to see how the other features of the game worked...

The combat itself was quite enjoyable. I really liked the UI elements that were overlaid on the environment itself. My only gripe with the controls was the camera, but I imagine with some re-binding and tweaking, I could get it to work the way I want.

My worry is that the game just might be far too short if that is all the content they are releasing for the demo. If the content is there, I'll pick it up, though.

I hear ya, from what i gather from the gameplay videos. You'll be able to rotate the camera, i really did miss this feature in the demo myself as well. Also i noticed that only halfway through the 2nd mission did you get the ability to change the different levels. I believe that the demo is severely limited in what you can do. Also the base you were limited to picking the buttons to goto the corresponding room, from what i've seen in the gameplay videos this is not so. It is much more free on you click here, it zooms there.

You can rotate the camera in the demo by pressing Q and E. Granted, it only rotates at 90 degree increments but that's better than nothing. Maybe they'll patch in 360 camera rotation eventually.

I do agree that the demo was way too restrictive. The first mission was a joke. The player had no control whatsoever and you had to do exactly the game told you to do. Including a tutorial mission in a demo is never a good idea, as tutorial missions usually suck and don't accurately represent the game as a whole. The second mission was better, but again, you didn't get to customize your squad or build anything beforehand. Also, the mission was set to Easy so the enemy AI didn't really do much.

I think they should have included three random missions from the game, let the player choose the difficulty and let them customize their squads and build stuff too. I want to try the demo again but I don't think I can make it past that horrible tutorial once more.

I wouldn't see coop in xcom as making that much sense, but I have nothing wrong with the idea of coop in tbs. I used to play coop civ games all the time, it is a blast. We just play hotseat and try to work together as best we can. It's actually the most fun I've had in civ.

There are also coop board games that are really fun. So it's not some brand new thing that no ones ever done before. And technically it's easier to accomplish than multiplayer realtime; a week versus several months of work.

I don't see XCom crying out for it

The demo was awesome. I agree that it didn't give much of an idea of the scope of the game, but there are so few of these tactical games that I kind of don't care. I know from the demo that the gameplay is at least solid. Early previews of the rest of the game seem quite positive. And it's firaxis, who in my opinion can't make a bad game. Instabuy.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 20:05:

Riker wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 19:33:

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 19:31:Yeah I know right? A small section of hell clearly froze over. Total face palm at anyone wanting coop in a turn based strategy game.

And why is that?

Just mechanics wise it doesn't sound like something that would be easy to do, or very fun to play to be honest. You move your guys on your turn, but you put them in the spot your friend wanted to put his. Oh shit the enemy just flanked your guys and your friend is half way across the map and it isn't his turn to move for awhile.

Not every game needs co op. I realize that's the "big thing" now, personally for a game of this type single player works just fine thanks.

Cutter wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 17:30:

Will W wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 16:21:

Riker wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 14:17:Neehaw! So excited!

I haven't pre-ordered yet, as I'm holding out for a decent sale price. Has anyone found any deals, aside from a 10% pre-order discount from Amazon and GMG?

[EDIT] The below may no longer be valid...just looked at the "free" game and it looks like it's $20 now ... Yup, blog says it ended at 11:00 UTC today. Sorry. Link to Blog About Deal Ending[/EDIT]

You can get the game for 44.99 + $8 off using the following link on Green Man. Good till Oct. 1st-ish...depending on time zone. Obviously no steam "goodies" if you go this route. I've been holding off for a demo....gonna try it out tonight and buy if I'm into it. Damn. Just got into GW2 as well. lol.

Yeah the deal appears to be over. Dammit! I thought it ran untill October 1st. Welp, I was going to buy it today after that great demo but now I'll wait and see if they do something similar again.

These people that won't buy anything new at full price, especially titles that are worthy of paying full price for, I often wonder what kind of hardware they have in their machines since a good video card is far from cheap. Not only that but don't you people actually want to support devs that make games that you enjoy? No wonder publishers don't take chances and just pump out sequels and me too copy cat titles of whatever big title is currently the hot game.

Especially in the case of Xcom being only 50 when most titles are 60 out of the gate these days.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 20:51:Not that I'm against saving money or anything crazy like that, but at the same time I have no issue paying full price for something like BL2, or Skyrim, or Xcom that I know I'm going to get my money's worth out of.

Hey, good for you. I'm the type who prefers to pay less rather than more, so if there's a sale, I'm gonna take advantage of it. If that drives you crazy, you've got bigger problems.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 20:05:These people that won't buy anything new at full price, especially titles that are worthy of paying full price for, I often wonder what kind of hardware they have in their machines since a good video card is far from cheap. Not only that but don't you people actually want to support devs that make games that you enjoy? No wonder publishers don't take chances and just pump out sequels and me too copy cat titles of whatever big title is currently the hot game.

Especially in the case of Xcom being only 50 when most titles are 60 out of the gate these days.

I buy plenty of stuff at full price - and overpriced to boot - generally just not games but most games aren't worth it IMO. I'm not cheap, I just expect good value relative to what I buy as does everyone else. I dropped $63 on a bottle of Pinot Noir from Oregon last week and didn't blink and eye doing it. And whilst it was overpriced it was entirely worth it. If I can save 8 bucks on a game and apply that to something else I'm damn sure going to and so will most other people.

Sorry I wasn't trying to single you out really Cutter, I just tend to eye roll alot when an obvious quality title is coming and you have generally the same handful who won't buy it at all unless they can use Greenmangaming or whatever. Drives me crazy.

Not that I'm against saving money or anything crazy like that, but at the same time I have no issue paying full price for something like BL2, or Skyrim, or Xcom that I know I'm going to get my money's worth out of.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 20:05:These people that won't buy anything new at full price, especially titles that are worthy of paying full price for, I often wonder what kind of hardware they have in their machines since a good video card is far from cheap. Not only that but don't you people actually want to support devs that make games that you enjoy? No wonder publishers don't take chances and just pump out sequels and me too copy cat titles of whatever big title is currently the hot game.

Especially in the case of Xcom being only 50 when most titles are 60 out of the gate these days.

I buy plenty of stuff at full price - and overpriced to boot - generally just not games but most games aren't worth it IMO. I'm not cheap, I just expect good value relative to what I buy as does everyone else. I dropped $63 on a bottle of Pinot Noir from Oregon last week and didn't blink and eye doing it. And whilst it was overpriced it was entirely worth it. If I can save 8 bucks on a game and apply that to something else I'm damn sure going to and so will most other people.

"During times of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

Stanly Manly wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 19:41:I'm on the fence after playing the demo. I felt it was far too limited in scope to get a solid handle on what the game had to offer. You couldn't really deviate from the demo path at all, and I just wanted to see how the other features of the game worked...

The combat itself was quite enjoyable. I really liked the UI elements that were overlaid on the environment itself. My only gripe with the controls was the camera, but I imagine with some re-binding and tweaking, I could get it to work the way I want.

My worry is that the game just might be far too short if that is all the content they are releasing for the demo. If the content is there, I'll pick it up, though.

I hear ya, from what i gather from the gameplay videos. You'll be able to rotate the camera. I really did miss this feature in the demo myself as well. Also i noticed that only halfway through the 2nd mission did you get the ability to change the different levels. I believe that the demo is severely limited in what you can do. Also the base you were limited to picking the buttons to goto the corresponding room, from what i've seen in the gameplay videos this is not so. It is much more free on you click here, it zooms there.

Stanly Manly wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 19:41:I'm on the fence after playing the demo. I felt it was far too limited in scope to get a solid handle on what the game had to offer. You couldn't really deviate from the demo path at all, and I just wanted to see how the other features of the game worked...

The combat itself was quite enjoyable. I really liked the UI elements that were overlaid on the environment itself. My only gripe with the controls was the camera, but I imagine with some re-binding and tweaking, I could get it to work the way I want.

My worry is that the game just might be far too short if that is all the content they are releasing for the demo. If the content is there, I'll pick it up, though.

I hear ya, from what i gather from the gameplay videos. You'll be able to rotate the camera, i really did miss this feature in the demo myself as well. Also i noticed that only halfway through the 2nd mission did you get the ability to change the different levels. I believe that the demo is severely limited in what you can do. Also the base you were limited to picking the buttons to goto the corresponding room, from what i've seen in the gameplay videos this is not so. It is much more free on you click here, it zooms there.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 19:31:Yeah I know right? A small section of hell clearly froze over. Total face palm at anyone wanting coop in a turn based strategy game.

And why is that?

Just mechanics wise it doesn't sound like something that would be easy to do, or very fun to play to be honest. You move your guys on your turn, but you put them in the spot your friend wanted to put his. Oh shit the enemy just flanked your guys and your friend is half way across the map and it isn't his turn to move for awhile.

Not every game needs co op. I realize that's the "big thing" now, personally for a game of this type single player works just fine thanks.

Cutter wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 17:30:

Will W wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 16:21:

Riker wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 14:17:Neehaw! So excited!

I haven't pre-ordered yet, as I'm holding out for a decent sale price. Has anyone found any deals, aside from a 10% pre-order discount from Amazon and GMG?

[EDIT] The below may no longer be valid...just looked at the "free" game and it looks like it's $20 now ... Yup, blog says it ended at 11:00 UTC today. Sorry. Link to Blog About Deal Ending[/EDIT]

You can get the game for 44.99 + $8 off using the following link on Green Man. Good till Oct. 1st-ish...depending on time zone. Obviously no steam "goodies" if you go this route. I've been holding off for a demo....gonna try it out tonight and buy if I'm into it. Damn. Just got into GW2 as well. lol.

Yeah the deal appears to be over. Dammit! I thought it ran untill October 1st. Welp, I was going to buy it today after that great demo but now I'll wait and see if they do something similar again.

These people that won't buy anything new at full price, especially titles that are worthy of paying full price for, I often wonder what kind of hardware they have in their machines since a good video card is far from cheap. Not only that but don't you people actually want to support devs that make games that you enjoy? No wonder publishers don't take chances and just pump out sequels and me too copy cat titles of whatever big title is currently the hot game.

Especially in the case of Xcom being only 50 when most titles are 60 out of the gate these days.